Improvement in air-pumps



G. M. MOWBRAY. AIR PUMP.

Patented Nov. 22, 1864.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

G. M. MOWBRAY, or rrrusvittn, rnunsrtvnuia.

IMPROVEMENT-1N Ayia-PUMPS.

Specification forming part` of Letters Patent No. 45,168, dated Novembefr 22,1864.

ATo a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. MOWBRAL' of rfitusville, in the county of Crawfordand State of Pennsylvania, ,have invented an Improvement in Pumpsfor Gompressing Air,

-`\,'ap'or, and Gaseous Bodies, and Ido hereby l declarefthat the following is a full, clear, and

great strength and thickness, for use in oil and other wells, including-those called Artesiam7 for the purpose ofobtaining a flow of liq'- nid from such Wells, upon the-principle of v theoil-ejeetor.; and it consists in placing Water, oil, or saline solutions in the chambers and passa-ges of an air-pump, or, in other Words, immersing the piston of an air pump in a liquid comparatively incompressible, in lieu of air, for the purposes and in the manner hereinafter described.

In fetching the liquid contents of such Wells up to the surface of the earth by the method practiced in using eiectors, it is necessary to use highly-compressed air-say, for wells one thousand feet in depth, air under a pressure o-t four hundred and fifty pounds to the square inch. This great pressure is obtained, if at all, with great difficulty and expense by means of the air-pumps now in use, even when constructed in the most approved manner at present known. The great heat produced in the working ofthe pump causes the oil used for lubricating it to igniteand burnthe packing` and make the pump inefficient and useless. I have attempted to construct a pump'which shall-enable me to compress air or anyl other compressible fluid up ,to any'desired or' useful point, and 'I `accomplish it by employing a mobile packing in the cylinder and its.'con nected parts which surrounds the piston, nn-

der a. construction and mode of operation hereinafter set forth.

.In constructing and arranging my air-pump I prefer to lay it horizontally instead of -vertically, bolting 'it to a bed-plate similar to those used for horizontal steam-engines, the piston B of the pump receiving its motion through the piston-rod C, connecting with a cross-head, guides, connecting-rod, crank, and other usual devices, aided byaflywheel. (Not here shown.)

The pumpcylinder is designa-ted by the letterA, having openings It h'in its upper side at each end, communicating, respectively, with chambers D D', set immediately over the cylinder and separated from each other by a partition, j. GonduitsTEI-", leading, respectively, from the chambers D D', open into a common air-reservoir, J, placed abovethe chambers, the communication between the chamber D audits governed by a valve, E. These valves are self-acting, and may be globe or ball valves,

or at valves, like those shown, in which ease they should be guided to and from their seats by a feather-stem, as usual. These valves have their seats in the highest part of the chambers D D', and are accessible through bonnets G G', to adjust them or grind them true without disturbing the conduits. The valve-stems e sustain buttons f, which strike the inside ofthe bonnet at each ascent of the valves, the latter being limited in their movements upward by this means.

At the side or some other convenient part of each chamber I place an inlet or check valve, H El', opening inwardA to admit air, and also lsufficient water to vcompensate for the loss of that which may escape from the pump in the form o'f spray When the piston is operated rapidly, it being desirable to maintain a uniform volume of waterin the pump duringits operation. These valves are located in pipes P P', whichopen, respectively, into the chambers v D D', and these pipes have vertical branchest t',"to furnish access to the valves, and also branches lo k', t'onme'cl by extending the pipes P P' a short distance beyond' the valve-seats andv below the plane of their position'. The ends of the branches 7c k are turned upward, and are carried to la height 'exceeding the elevation of the valves I-I H'. Their npturned endsare open, andare connected with pipes I I' (shown in red) to supply Water to them,

which pipes are made open above the branch es k k.' without any close connection, so as to admit air through the branches k k'.

I prefer to place the air-reservoir J above the receiving-chambers D D', althoughit may be placed in other convenient positions. It is provided in its upper part with an outlet, controlled by a valve or stop-cock. K, and with a pressure-gage, c1, so indicate the pressure of lthe compressed air, vapor, or gas, and with a water-gage, L, and dischargecock to indica-te the height ofwater and remove any surplus beyond the amount necessaryr to cover the valves F F', through which the air is dis charged from thechambers into the conduits.

The water-gage is connected to the reservoir by pipes b b.

In order to charge the pump, the piston is placed at the end of its stroke, and thechamber over the piston, when the latter isi-n that position, is filled with water. The piston is now moved toward and beneath the other chamber to the end of its stroke in that direcv"tion, and this other chamber is also filled with water. The pump-is now ready for operation.

It should be observed that the'strokeof the piston or its travel does not extend in either direction beyond the openings h h'.

'Motion being` given to the piston, the water iu one of the chambers-say D'-above the cylinder descends into the cylinder through the opening h', following; the piston.,v and' thereby creating a vacuum. in that chamber, which isimmediately lsupplied with air through the check-valve H'. When the piston returns,

it drives the water before itout of the cylin `globe valves, a volume of air equal to the vol ume of water displaced from the cylinder by the motion of the piston, while at thev same time the other' chamber receives through itsl propercheck-valve as much .air (with alittle water, to compensate for waste in the form of spray) as is equal in volume to the volume of either chamber into the cylinder, and I am also enabled to compensate for any loss of water which may have been carried up in the form of spray along with the air in its passage through the feather or globe valves into the aicreservoir. n

I have described a doubleacting pump, because with it I can compress air at each movement of the pistou, but a single-acting pump is equally applicable, although not so econom-4 ical, for the reason that two cylinders and pistons would be necessary to accomplish. the same amount of work. y

I do not claim the construction of the valves or receiving chamber or cylinder of the pump here shown; but

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new anddeslre to secure gv Letters Patent- 1. Compress'ing and'I llorcing air in and ythrough a pump by means otwater or other comparatively incompressible liquid, so that the air is acted on directly by the Water and does not come in contact with thepiston, under a mode of operation andby a combination and arrangcmentof chambers D D' and cylinder A, substantially as above set forth. e 2. Arranging the inlet or cheek valvosso that while'air is supplied ,through their seats to the chambers DD farsmall portion of water or other liquid mayaiso be passed into -the chambers to compensate for the wasteof the 'supply in the pump, substantially as described. 3, The combination of the air-reservoir J with the water-gage L and water-discharge cock M, sebstautially as described.

4. Balancing or partially balancing the 1nlet or check valves by means of the compensating water-'supply under a mode of construe, tion and operation substantially as described.

f GEQ.' M. MOWBRAY.

Witnesses:

M. LIVINGSTON, J AMES P. HALL. 

